Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Thurs. July 30th, 2026

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Carney said he didn’t want to use Canadian energy as a bargaining chip in the ongoing trade war with the United States, though he wouldn’t explicitly rule it out. On Thursday, his tone hasn’t changed. However, if we want to send a stern message that Canada means business, the Premier of Ontario argues that hitting America where it hurts might be the only path we have left. We dig deeper with Andreas Schotter, a Professor of International Business at Western University’s Ivy Business School. Meantime, as we inch closer to the long weekend, travel plans for thousands of Canadians could be up in the air. On Thursday, WestJet flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice, and could walk off the job as early as Sunday morning if a deal isn’t reached. If this impacts your flight, what should your next steps be? Kristy Cameron checks in with Gábor Lukács, a Canadian air passenger rights advocate, in Hour 1. But first, we bring you up to speed on today’s top headlines.